The present invention relates to a disk loading apparatus as a mechanism for loading a disk into a disk driving apparatus and, more particularly, to a mechanism for preventing incorrect loading of a disk with an improper diameter.
A conventional disk loading device in a disk driving apparatus aims to load a 12 cm disk correctly into the disk driving apparatus without scratching or contaminating a surface of the disk, as can be seen in a loading system employing a driving roller type, or in a belt-driven type, loading system which is generally adopted in a vehicle-mounted disk driving apparatus, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Published Utility Model Application No. 62-63854.
The driving roller type or belt-driven type loading system for correctly loading a disk into a disk driving apparatus without scratching or contaminating the disk surface, is targeted for 12 cm disks. As for disks having diameters smaller than 12 cm, a countermeasure against a failure of the disk driving apparatus due to incorrect loading of the smaller-diameter disks has been taken by indicating precautions or the like. Accordingly, incorrect loading of smaller-diameter disks due to a user""s forgetting about reading the precautions, carelessness, or the like has caused a failure of a disk driving apparatus.
Conventional disk loading devices are constituted as described above, and incorrect loading of disks having sizes different from a prescribed size causes a failure of a disk driving apparatus.
The present invention is made to solve the above-described problem and has for its object to provide a disk loading apparatus which can reliably prevent loading of smaller-diameter disks, due to carelessness or the like, to prevent a failure of a disk driving apparatus, even when a countermeasure against incorrect loading of smaller-diameter disks, such as indication of precautions, is not taken.
A disk loading apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises two independent disk loading detection devices which are provided in the vicinity of a disk loading slot, and are operated together when a disk having a predetermined size is loaded; and two disk loading control devices which are provided in a carrier path of the disk, independently from each other and corresponding to the two disk loading detection devices, respectively, and are operated in connection with the disk loading detection devices to provide a disk-carrying enabled state and a disk-carrying disabled state of the carrier path.
As described above, the disk loading apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with two independent disk loading detection devices which are provided in the vicinity of a disk loading slot, and are operated together when a disk having a predetermined size is loaded; and two disk loading control devices which are provided in a carrier path of the disk, independently from each other and corresponding to the two disk loading detection devices, respectively, and are operated in connection with the disk loading detection devices to provide the disk-carrying enabled state and disk-carrying disabled state of the carrier path. Therefore, it is possible to provide a disk loading apparatus that can correctly load only a disk of an operable size into a disk driving apparatus, and can prevent incorrect loading of a disk having an improper size so as to avoid a failure of the disk driving apparatus, even when a countermeasure against incorrect loading of a smaller-diameter disk, such as indication of precautions or the like, is not taken.
Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the disk loading apparatus defined in accordance with the first aspect, the two disk loading detection devices include rods which rotate in accordance with insertion/ejection of a disk, about certain pivot axes, along a disk insertion/ejection direction; the disk loading control devices include levers which have edges in contact with the rods, respectively, and rotate about certain pivot axes in a direction intersecting the disk insertion/ejection direction, whereby upper and lower positions of the levers are changed with the carrier path as a reference plane; and when a disk which is smaller than a disk of a predetermined size is loaded, at least one of the levers intersects the carrier path.
As described above, according to the second aspect of the invention, in the disk loading apparatus as defined in the first aspect, the two disk loading detection devices include rods which rotate in accordance with insertion/ejection of a disk, about certain pivot axes, along the disk insertion/ejection direction; the disk loading control devices include levers which have edges in contact with the rods, respectively, and rotate about certain pivot axes in a direction intersecting the disk insertion/ejection direction, whereby the upper and lower positions of the levers are changed with the carrier path as a reference plane; and, when a disk which is smaller than the disk of the predetermined size is loaded, at least one of the levers intersects the carrier path, whereby loading of a disk smaller than the disk of the predetermined size is prevented. Therefore, it is possible to provide a disk loading apparatus that can correctly load only a disk of a predetermined operable size into a disk driving apparatus, and can prevent incorrect loading of a disk having an improper size smaller than the predetermined size so as to avoid a failure of the disk driving apparatus, even when a countermeasure against incorrect loading of the smaller-diameter disk, such as indication of precautions or the like, is not taken.